3
8.
At someone’s question, the survivor clutched his shoulder and vomited blood.
“If only Jin So-woon dies…… If only Jin So-woon dies……!!!!”
Trembling
The survivor, foaming at the mouth and trembling violently.
At one moment, his body came to a sudden halt and collapsed stiffly to the floor, like a wooden puppet whose strings had snapped.
“…….”
A heavy silence fell over the surroundings amidst the chilling series of events.
Those watching the survivor hold their breath and shift their gaze one by one. ‘Haa.’ Heavy eyes are fixed on me.
With lips tightly closed, he stares with complex emotions.
They probably don’t know either.
The fact that within that emotion, all kinds of feelings such as resentment, reproach, grudge, doubt, murderous intent, regret, indignation, and denial are mixed.
That such pent-up emotions can find an outlet and pour out at any moment. ‘Things are going badly.’ When humans experience phenomena they cannot understand, they desperately search for the reason.
It does not matter who it is, what the meaning is, or what the cause is.
Because I have to come up with any reason to avoid being helplessly swept away by baseless fear.
That is why those who spend their entire lives shouting for the destruction of demons and pursuing the extremes of the Tao react violently and feel fear at the nonsensical bullshit of a divine curse.
Before they were uninhabited, they were all human, and humans are by nature such animals.
If this confusion continues for a long time.
If time passes without being properly resolved.
Survival becomes even more difficult.
It is a situation I absolutely must not face where resentment is directed at me due to the transmission of misinformation.
Right now, the only way to solve the problem is to correct misinformation and accurately identify the phenomenon.
I need to snap those guys out of it quickly…
“conflict!!!!”
Damn, that startled me.
Wow, my eardrums almost burst just now.
Why is this bald guy suddenly shouting…
That’s complete nonsense!!!
I was so dazed that I was momentarily speechless, wondering what to say just moments ago.
The bald man kept letting out a lion’s roar.
“To think that we must die for Master Jin to live… what kind of nonsense is this!”
We live… …?
No, I didn’t say that.
“What kind of nonsense is this! There is no way that Master Jin is the cause of this situation!”
cause……?
I didn’t even say that, you bald head! Why do you keep adding unnecessary details!
“Now, just a moment…….”
“Just stay still, Master Jin!”
Did you just block my hand with the Maitreya Three Thousand Seas?!
To witness the Shaolin Temple’s greatest Golden Hand technique like this… I am overwhelmed with emotion.
“Even Confucius never mentioned supernatural beings. Aren’t we, who practice the Way of Martial Arts, striving every single day to eradicate the wicked and chaotic things of the world? How could you speak of human sacrifice?!”
Some spoke, staining even their smooth scalp red.
“Good heavens… human sacrifice… what a barbaric and irrational method! Moreover, even if we sacrifice the benefactor, is there any proof that we can survive!”
“Th-th-what if… you don’t know?”
What the hell.
They’re really messing things up.
“Even if everything could be solved through human sacrifice!!!”
chuck!
Suddenly, a finger points toward me… …
Who is this bald guy pointing his finger at?
“Do you think Master Jin will accept this willingly!!! This crazy… no, human, who faces them head-on despite the instructors’ pressure! The Black Flame Dragon, whom even the thugs of the Black Path bow down to! Do you really think he will meekly become the target of a human sacrifice?!”
Wow, if I had known Il-gak was this good at speaking, I would have made him the spokesperson sooner.
Look at that, those eyes that were clouded with confusion are now glaring with murderous intent.
“Furthermore!!! I will absolutely not assist in the human sacrifice of the true benefactor! No, going further, I will obstruct your joint offering to the utmost. For this is an act contrary to the Buddha’s teachings!!!”
Silence fell once again, but paradoxically, the atmosphere in the room heated up.
The guys who were looking for a reason have now started thinking about how to offer me as a sacrifice.
I sighed as I looked at Ilgak’s head, which was flushed red.
“……
Are you done?
“Master Jin! Do not worry. I will stay by your side and protect you to the very end!”
“Are you done?”
“Uh, why are you looking at me like that? What did I do…?”
“Shut up and come out.”
The bald man’s shoulders slumped.
Now it’s time to wake up the academy students that the bald guy shook up.
I stepped forward a corner and raised both hands above my head.
match.
The students flinched at the sound of clapping filled with inner energy.
“Is there anyone here who intends to offer me as a sacrifice, just like the bald guy said?”
Srrrr.
At the same time, he drew out the Red Light Sword and infused it with energy.
Aaaaaaaah!
Along with a spine-chilling scream of unknown origin, a red light poured out from the center of the sword blade.
“I have no intention of dying willingly. Choose one: die at the hands of those trying to kill us in this forest, or die by my own hands.”
chuck.
visor.
Chae-chaeng.
As soon as I finished speaking, my squad members all stood behind me and drew their weapons.
The murderous aura that had been stinging my skin gradually faded, and the students who had been glaring at me as if to kill me began to look away one by one.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you fighting!”
The students in the academy took two steps back as I took one step closer.
Just then, a voice was heard among the students.
“Representative Jin. Stop it. This isn’t the time for jokes.”
The students stepped aside for the owner of the voice, and Jongchuak walked out through them.
“Don’t you know that there are no people here willing to offer Representative Jin as a human sacrifice?”
I don’t think that’s it.
The way he turned his face red and averted his gaze, it looked like he wanted to drive me into a stake no matter what.
Soon, Jongchuak turned around with a fierce gaze.
“How many people among those affiliated with the world’s greatest martial arts academy would believe such foolish talk!”
At Jongchuak’s words, the students began to nod one by one.
There were also those who blushed upon realizing how stupid the thought they had just come up with was.
I thought I would have to beat a few of them up to make them come to their senses, but they quickly regained their reason at a few words from Jongchuak.
Of course, that sight didn’t look very good. ‘Does communication that transcends affiliation only begin after everyone has failed?’ Because to me, it seemed like yet another wall.
“For now, let’s take a break. Everyone looks a mess.”
As Jongchuak said, it hadn’t even been half a day since the battle ended.
I was too physically and mentally exhausted to see more blood.
“Uh, sure.”
Actually, I’ve been really sleepy since earlier.
“Does anyone have any antiseptic!”
The people who had gathered scattered one by one.
Just like at the Murim Academy, just like when coming to Mukrim, just like during battle, they each divided their forces and gathered among themselves.
Watching that made me chuckle.
It seems like here……
We’re all going to die.
“What do you mean?”
Eunho’s question, still standing on guard with his sword drawn.
I shook my head heavily.
For some reason, it feels like a picture I’ve seen somewhere before.
Memories of a past life, not this life.
But?
A sight that is all too familiar.
I closed my eyes tightly and answered in a low voice.
They are all dead.
No matter how hard I tried to suppress it, the desperate memories stood out vividly. After the first survivor appeared, I tried to form a reconnaissance team again to search the area around the base, but there was no need to do so.
They are the disciples of Mount Hua!
The second group of survivors appeared immediately.
“Cho Hyung!”
Because third survivors appeared again.
Afterwards, none of the returning survivors said they had to kill me, but most of them returned to the base in a dazed, dazed state, as if they had lost their minds.
“Jin Si-ju, are you sure you don’t need to send a reconnaissance team? We also need to verify the truth of what the survivors are saying.”
The word that those who survived all muttered in common was ‘siege’.
It’s probably certain that they were surrounded.
Why are you so sure?
Although the signal flare for a full assembly was fired, I do not think they would have been able to return to the base upon seeing it.
If there had been a guide from the start, they would have gathered before the signal flare was fired, and isn’t Mukrim too harsh an environment to find their way there relying solely on the signal flare without a guide?
I pointed at the survivors with the tip of my chin.
Because they have returned.
The students sitting with blank expressions, as if their minds had wandered.
His clothes had turned into rags, and he had lost even the weapon that was worthless to a warrior.
Ilgak, who had been staring at the scene together, tilted his head.
“What does that have to do with the siege?”
“Ilgak, haven’t you ever experienced a natural wonder? Do you think it’s possible to get through there and find your way without a guide?”
I am reminded of the members of the Jeongdohoe who could not find their way even with the smoke right in front of them.
The fact that you’ve come this far means that others have led you.
“Leading you?…… Who on earth are you talking about?”
“Who else could it be?”
They are the ones who want to kill us.
Also known as ‘body throwing’.
Returning a prisoner who has lost his mind due to being steeped in demonic energy and killing intent to the opposing camp causes chaos within the unit.
“Master Jin… I don’t understand.”
From the perspective of some who cannot even imagine the true identity of the enemy, this would be an action that is incomprehensible no matter how hard they try to understand it.
Because at the root of his way of thinking lies the foundation of ‘common sense’.
You probably won’t understand the meaning of going to the trouble of bringing someone back alive to enemy territory to kill them twice.
I gestured with my chin and pointed around.
“You don’t really need to understand. Look over there.”
The joy of surviving the surprise attack last night was short-lived, as the students already gathered at the base realized their desperate situation as they watched the survivors return one by one.
“Sob… sob.”
Those who had been acting with such high pride shed tears like children.
“This is mine! Give it back right now!”
“That’s shared property…… Leave it alone!”
Driven by the immediate need for necessities, they do not hesitate to resort to knife violence.
“W-we’ll be able to survive, right? Right? The Murim Alliance will protect us… won’t they?”
These people, who feared nothing in the world, could not overcome their anxiety and stayed awake all night.
“It’s been exactly one day since the surprise attack, and the personnel have turned into such a mess. What do you think? Won’t it be easier to kill them in a few days?”
If this situation continues for just a few more days, more people will become confused, and knife fights will surely break out among the people.
“For high physical achievement does not guarantee a sound mind. Especially for academy students who have skipped several levels of training thanks to the sect’s investment. Those who were selected as outstanding Five Stars, received the Punishment Water and various elixirs, and easily achieved high results relative to their efforts…”
It possesses a depth level equivalent to a stone tower built in a single row.
And such a precarious stone tower can easily fall down with even a small impact.
You have to move.
Where do you mean to go?
“Where else but somewhere? We just have to get out of Mukrim.”
However, it is difficult for everyone to move around in this situation. Moreover, there are many who want to wait for the instructor.
A repetition of a story that has already been told.
But I know.
The instructors probably won’t be able to return.
If they had been alive, they would have returned to the base.
Even if they wanted to ask for help from outside, wouldn’t they have left at least a few people here?
Wasting time waiting for someone who won’t come is throwing away even the little chance of survival that remains.
“We could all die like this.”
After hesitating for a moment, Il-gak opened his mouth after thinking for a moment.
Still, we need at least time to treat the injuries. We can’t carry everyone on our backs, can we?
Instead of answering, I looked at my team members.
Looking normal compared to other students in the dormitory.
Within Mukrim, they will likely demonstrate superior skills compared to the members of Jeongdohoe.
Thinking of the time of the Murim Jeongsi, I began to calculate a way to escape with only them.
Operations carried out by numerous special units that fought against the Demonic Cult.
By analyzing the successes and failures, we calculate the probability that our team members can break through the Demonic Cult’s encirclement.
As I sink into my consciousness, all surrounding sounds are blocked out.
dole.”
Circuits run endlessly in my head.
but.
Failure, failure, failure, failure.
All the simulated operations conceived in my head are sending warning signals.
Lord Jin!
I briefly raised my head and looked at the noisy bald man.
I know. I know you can’t move right now. Still, move as fast as you can…
at that time.
I felt a chilling shiver run down my spine.
As if sensing it for a moment, his eyes widened.
“!!!”
An uneasy feeling creeping up at my feet like slowly scattering smoke.
It was none other than living.
“J-Jin Siju, this is…….”
This type of environmental change indicates only one thing.
“W-Isn’t this a net of heaven and earth!”
